9.5.18

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu heads for Vladimir Putin talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu headed to Moscow on
Wednesday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, hours after
US President Donald Trump announced he would pull out of the Iran
nuclear deal.
Netanyahu and Putin have held a series of meetings and phone
conversations in recent months, mainly over Syria and the involvement
there of Israel’s arch-rival Iran.
“The meetings between us are always important and this one is especially so,” Netanyahu said before departing.
“In light of what is currently happening in Syria, it is necessary to
ensure the continued coordination between the Russian military and
(that of Israel).”
Russia’s foreign ministry said it was “deeply disappointed” by
Trump’s announcement on Tuesday that the United States would pull out of
the Iran deal, while Netanyahu strongly supported the US president’s
“bold” move.
Netanyahu has long opposed the nuclear deal between world powers and Tehran.

Separately, Israel is deeply concerned over Iran’s
presence in Syria, where Tehran, like Moscow, backs President Bashar
al-Assad’s regime.
Russia and Israel have set up a hotline to avoid accidental clashes in Syria.
Netanyahu has vowed not to allow Iran to entrench itself militarily
in neighbouring Syria, where Israel has been repeatedly accused of
carrying out deadly strikes, with reports of Iranian forces killed.
Israel has not acknowledged those strikes, but admits carrying out
dozens of raids in Syria to stop what it says are deliveries of advanced
arms to the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, another of its enemies.
There have been fears in Israel of Iranian retaliation.
Just prior to Trump’s speech on Tuesday, the Israeli army asked
authorities in the occupied Golan Heights to open and prepare missile
shelters due to “irregular activity by Iranian forces” over the
demarcation line in Syria.